Description

Footsteps Rock is comprised of several prominent sandstone towers dropping into the Pacific Ocean. The climbing is primarily bolt protected although it is not necessarily sport climbing. Many of the bolts are old but several of the routes have been upgraded. The rock quality ranges from crisp, compact sandstone to grainy and dirty. Currently, there are about 30 routes. Check out the Footsteps online guide by permission of "Hi, I'm Paul Humphrey"! and Eric Chemello.

Getting There

From Arcata, drive north on 101 past Klamath(Lost Rocks). When the ocean comes in sight after passing "Trees of Mystery", start up the hill past the Hostel. There is a large vista point pullout with interpretive signs near mile marker 13.44. Park here and walk north about 200 yards. There is a state park access trail on the west side of the road that will take you to the crags. It is approximately 1/2 mile to the notch above the crags from the highway. This trail is often overgrown with poison oak. Bring the tyvek suit for the approach or just watch out!

This area needs some work really bad, although the info says the bolts have been replaced i really didnt see any sign that they had. Also the trail is over run with nettle(still bad) not poison oak, but not a nice trail to travel on. It is much easier to walk from the beach, if traveling from the south (arcata) you will see the crag and the Promontory, use the beach parking and walk to the crag. But be warned that there is poison oak once you are at the base of the rocks. Lastly the bolts are all very rusted and in bad shape, i did not see any climbs i would feel safe to lead or would TR using the anchors.

I would urge you to coordinate with anyone who might climb regularly at this special place, perhaps talk to Rick about the condition of the bolts, and decide who has the capital, inclination, and time to re-bolt these amazing lines. Rick thought the ones at the Promontory looked bad, but were actually very solid and since I and others put these routes up all at roughly the same time, I wonder if the bolts at Footsteps fall under the same category.

As an alternative, you might consider just doing FA's, like a traverse around the South Step.

I visited here yesterday, we scouted all the routes and even climbed a few. Some of the bolts aren't terrible, some are terrifying. The climbing was amazing though, well worth the hike along the beach up from Promontory. I would love to see a community effort to rebolt this place. Drilling in that rock would be quick and easy! And yes, the trails are covered in poison oak, which much of it can be avoided, but come prepared nonetheless.